UK Government Will Consider Recognising Palestinian State, David Cameron Announces
Foreign Secretary David Cameron stated that the UK may consider recognizing a Palestinian state, a move that Benjamin Netanyahu claims is no longer being considered.
David Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, announced that the government is reviewing the possibility of giving recognition to a Palestinian state.
Recently, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has affirmed the need for his country to have control of security from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean, thus eliminating the chance of a sovereign Palestinian state in the Gaza strip and the West Bank.
Both Britain and the United States have been pressuring Israel to uphold a two-state solution, based on the principles of the Oslo accords signed in 1993.
At a reception in London in front of Arab ambassadors on Monday night, Lord Cameron—former Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016—stated that acknowledging Palestine might help establish an “irreversible” process.
Palestinian People Need a ‘Political Horizon’
Lord Cameron, who has undertaken a fourth trip to the Middle East since his appointment by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in November, expressed the need to give “Palestinian people a political horizon.”
Under the 1990 Oslo peace process, a Palestinian Authority was established to wield political power in the West Bank and Gaza, with the intention of eventually becoming a state. However, the peace process stalled after the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish settler extremist in 1995, leading to a second intifada, or uprising, in 2000 and eventually the collapse of the deal.
In 2007, the hardline Hamas organization took over Gaza and expelled their rivals from the more moderate Fatah, whose control of the West Bank became increasingly undermined by an increase in Jewish settlements.
Unlike Fatah, Hamas has refused to recognize the existence of Israel and, on Oct. 7 last year, launched an attack across the border, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 Israeli civilians and service personnel. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground offensive, causing over 26,000 deaths and 64,000 wounded individuals according to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza.
Last week, Lord Cameron emphasized Britain’s support for a two-state solution during a meeting in Jerusalem with Mr. Netanyahu.
Netanyahu Resents Attempts to ‘Coerce’ Israel
Mr. Netanyahu believes a Palestinian state, “endanger the state of Israel,” and has criticized any “attempt to coerce us.”
In the past, the Labour Party has stated that it would recognize a Palestinian state, although Sir Keir Starmer has not raised the topic since the Israel-Hamas conflict began. His predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, strongly supported the Palestinian cause. However, Sir Keir, who has worked to repair relations with Britain’s Jewish community since taking over, is more hesitant to criticize Israel, especially following the Oct. 7 attacks.
On Monday, Lord Cameron stated, “We should be starting to set out what a Palestinian state would look like, what it would comprise, how it would work.” He added, “As that happens, we, with allies, will look at the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations. This could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible.”
The foreign secretary also mentioned that he would “do everything” to prevent the conflict from “spilling over borders.”
Many military strategists believe that Hamas hoped the Oct. 7 attacks would trigger a wider conflict between Israel and Iran, and some believe that hawks in Tehran are eager for such a conflagration.
PA Media contributed to this report.
